A Welsh hospital board has issued an urgent appeal for anyone planning to visit their hospitals
Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen (Image: Google)
A health board in Wales is asking family and friends not to visit their loved ones in hospital if they are feeling unwell. Hywel Dda University Health Board, providing NHS services in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, has issued an urgent appeal.
They are asking people to avoid visiting visiting friends and relatives in hospital if they are experiencing respiratory or gastric related symptoms like flu and gastroenteritis, or who has been in contact with other people who have these symptoms.
This is in an attempt to reduce the spread of infection. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here
They are asking you not to visit if you have been experiencing flu-like symptoms or a respiratory infection or if they currently have or had, diarrhoea and/or vomiting in the past 48 hours or if a person has been in contact with anyone with these symptoms.
The health board is also asking patients with a hospital appointment scheduled to contact them if they have experienced flu-like symptoms to see if your appointment is urgent, or if it can be rescheduled.
Rebecca Richards, head of infection prevention at Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “We always like to welcome visitors to our hospitals and a visit can be very beneficial to those who are being cared for at one of our sites.
“However, illnesses such as flu, diarrhoea and vomiting can pass from one person to another very easily and typically at this time of the year we find that these viruses circulate more frequently in the community.
“They can be serious for sick and vulnerable patients, so I would urge people not to visit patients in hospital at this time if you are or have recently experienced these illnesses. It’s important to ensure you are completely free from symptoms before visiting patients.”
The UK’s winter flu season began five weeks earlier than usual, health officials have warned.
Two of the worst winter flu seasons of the past decade have been seen in the last three years, something partly attributed to the bounce-back of the virus after Covid restrictions and when immunity has been low.
Last year nearly 8,000 people died from flu and in the 2022-23 flu season there were nearly 16,000 deaths.